“Holy shit,”Marc whisper-yells as I come off the stage and Frost takes my place.
I feel just as dumbfounded as he looks. I only gave Anna ten thousand, which means she willingly used her own money to bid on me. I didn’t ask her to do that, and I wouldn’t have been upset if she backed down because Florence is relentless. But Anna matched her energy, had this determined look on her face like she refused to lose.
“Biggest clutch of the year,” he says, astonished. “So, that’s it, then?”
I look around, making sure the other guys aren’t listening. “Yeah. We said once she bid, that’d be it for us.”
His black brows knit, gaze searching my face. “Why do you look disappointed?”
Do I? Am I?
No. What am I thinking? I’m not disappointed, it’s whatever. It’s done.
“I-I…” Did I just stutter? “I’m not.”
“Right,” he drawls, chuckling.
“I really?—”
“Sy.” Alexander Van Doren, King’s Yard’s star quarterback, drapes an arm around my shoulder and quietly asks, “So, who is she?”
I keep a smile on my face, but it feels too tight at the suggestion in his voice. “Don’t worry about it.”
He scoffs, side-eyeing me. “Don’t be like that. You’ve never been shy about sharing. What’s her name?”
I bite my tongue, resisting the urge to tell him to fuck off. I only smile wider and pat his chest. “She’s not interested.”
“Did she tell you that?” He lifts a challenging brow.
“I—” I falter. Why am I cockblocking Anna? She could be interested. Alex isn’t bad looking, and he’s a decent guy in general. But fuck that, I’m better looking and I’m not just decent, I’m great. “She didn’t but she came here withme, so back the fuck up and stay in your lane.”
Marc’s lips twitch at the corners, eyes twinkling with amusement, but he keeps his mouth shut.
He huffs a laugh, dropping his arm and pulling away. “Stay in my lane because she’s taken, or stay in my lane because she’sgoing to betaken?”
Jesus Christ. “Does it matter?”
Alex smirks cunningly. “I’m going to take that as not taken.”
I don’t manage to get a word in because he walks away.
“I thought you didn’t care if you never talked to her again?” Marc muffles his snicker.
“Shut up.” I swallow back a groan, doing my best to ignore the frustration mounting in my chest. “Maybe I do, but we had an agreement.”
He stares at me like he’s not following, and his words say just as much. “Okay and? You’re nothing if not a persistent asshole. Go talk to her.”
“And then what?”
I have no idea where to go from there. I’ve never gone back for seconds with a girl and I shouldn’t assume she even wants me. Sure, the moment in the restroom was lovely and even more so because it was with her, but it wasn’t long enough to mean anything, right? Or did it mean something?
My heart did that wild thing, and my mind was kind of all over the place. That never happens, but the moment I saw her, despite how scattered my thoughts were, I went to this happy place. I can’t explain it and it’s weird because I don’t know her, but it feels like I do.
He shrugs. “The hell if I know, but go for it or someone else will.”
Fuck it, I will.
“I’ll see you later,” I say over my shoulder.
